Midnight Safari
by Handwritten
Summary: He had merely been going to get a glass of water.'...let's see how Roxas' midnight trek will lead to band-aids, closed doors, tourist mugs... and, of course, a girl in some very lovely sleepwear. Namixas oneshot


**Midnight Safari**

* * *

He had merely been going to get a glass of water.

Roxas was always waking up in the middle of the night, throat parched and tongue dry -- and he really _hated _fumbling his way through the dark corridors to the kitchen on the ground level of the castle. But he always managed to forget to get himself a glass of water before passing out for the night.

This was like any other night. He woke up just before midnight, desperately thirsty. After fetching his slippers from his closet, he padded silently down the first hallway. The castle was even quieter than usual, and goose bumps rose on his arms as his eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. He briefly considered bringing out his keyblade...but imagine the embarrassment if someone caught him creeping down the hallway with his weapon by his side...

Sure - he could face dozens of heartless at a time, but walking down a dark hallway gave him the willy-nilly's. _Go figure._ He faced the maze of hallways with determination, ignoring how the corridor looked like something straight out of a horror movie.

Past Demyx's room. One right. Straight down the hall, past Axel's door. A sharp left, and pass the window overlooking the garden. Down the staircase. Turn right, and down another hallway. And - there - a dull unobtrusive door that led to the kitchens.

He _could_ use the tap water from one of the bathroom's, but for some reason, he didn't trust the water near Demyx. Ever since the sitar-player had threatened to poison his drinking water (after Roxas cracked the neck of one his instruments, anyway).

Though, knowing Demyx, he wasn't sure how long it would take for the guy to actually get around to _completing_ his revenge.

The kitchen was dark, and Roxas brushed his fingers along the wall until he found a switch. He squinted in the bright light, but continued forward. Suppressing a yawn, Roxas rummaged through one of the many cupboards. It took him two tries, but finally he found a reasonably sized cup.

'_Someone in Hallow Bastion loves me_' - now who's cup was _this? _He didn't recall ever seeing it in the kitchen before. _I guess one of them must have brought it back from a mission._

With a small smile, Roxas leaned over to turn on the tap. He was just filling it when he sensed someone else entering. The scraping sound of nails brushing against the stone wall. The slide of feet on the floor. Roxas stiffened, and half-turned, eyes narrowing; his feet automatically shifting father apart, with knees bent. The fighting stance was a second nature.

But holding a cup full of water while doing so wasn't. His hand slipped under the cold stream; but he didn't make any move to move his hand out from under the river of liquid ice.

Namine looked breathtaking in her sleepwear.

"R-Roxas?" She backed up, almost bumping into the counter as a faint blush quickly spread across her cheeks. Roxas grinned nervously, finally flicking the handle so the water stopped pouring onto his now-freezing hand.

"Er - yeah, I was just-" He gestured towards his cup. "What are you doing?"

Namine held up her hand, where a drop of blood was skating down the side; the red was stark against the paleness of her hand. "I was tearing a piece of paper out of my sketchbook, and..." She grimaced, eyeing the deep paper cut. "There aren't any band-aid's upstairs, so I-" she shrugged.

It took a few moment's for Roxas to comprehend her words, but when he did, his entire body reacted.

His eyebrow twitched. "Oh, god! Band-aid..right..." He strode across the room to one of the smaller drawers, where he had seen Luxord fetch some ointment when Axel had managed to singe one of his fingers.

"Here we are..." He muttered, quickly ripping the paper off the band-aid, and holding it carefully between his fingers. Namine stood at the sink, washing off the last few traces of blood, and taking a moment to apply the disinfectant Roxas thrust at her. She quickly dabbed it dry with a tissue.

"Hold still." He murmured, holding her hand gently, placing the band-aid over the cut. Satisfied with its position, he pressed the sticky flaps down on her pale skin. He didn't let go of her hand right away, and they both were turning pink as he finally let his arms drop limply against his sides.

"Thank you." She said quietly, gaze quickly snapping back to her feet.

He knew he shouldn't feel so embarrassed around her. They had kissed for the first time at least a month ago, and had shared several days together since. But he supposed it was the environment -- it was dark, quiet, and she was hardly covered in her sleep shorts and t-shirt.

_Say something!_

"Uh...uh..." More red gathered on the bridge of his nose. "H-How are you then?"

_Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!_

"I'm fine. You?" Her eyes bashfully met his; and she yawned, pressing her hand to her mouth.

"I've been good." Roxas muttered.

When it became apparent Roxas wasn't making any moves to continue the conversation, Namine tilted her head to the side. "Well, I guess I better get to bed...goodnight, Roxas."

"'Night." He muttered, biting his lip as she turned away. He watched her form retreat from the silent kitchen. Grabbing his cup, Roxas quickly trotted to her side.

"I may as well walk you to your room." He pretended his face wasn't beet red. "I'm going near there anyway."

They both knew it was a lie -- their rooms were as far apart as they could be in the large castle. But Roxas didn't want her walking back in the dark by herself, and who was he to give up a few more precious minutes with her?

He racked his brain for words to say -- anything to get her attention, for her eyes seemed to be locked on her bare feet. So, he asked how her drawings had been coming along.

"Good." Her voice wasn't stuttering like his did so often around her. "I really like the one I'm working on right now...I guess because it's very hard to catch Demyx when he isn't moving, so I really feel like I accomplished something."

"Ah." Roxas held his tongue, but he desperately wanted to tell her how much he admired her for putting so much effort into each creation.

Roxas chuckled to himself, quickly glancing at her before reaching to brush his fingers against hers. She silently took the cue, and slipped her hand into his. They both walked a bit closer together, straying to the left side of the drafty hallway, where the light from the candles seemed to shine the strongest.

The time it took for the couple to reach her room seemed entirely too short. They were both hesitating as she lay her palm on the doorknob. Both pausing - trying to prolong whatever they had together. He willed her to say something - anything - and his prayers were answered as she quietly asked if he would like to see her drawing so far.

"S-Sure." He replied, slipping into the room behind her. Namine smiled, and began leading him towards her desk.

Her door remained closed for the rest of the night.

* * *

The next morning, Axel was shrugging into his black cloak as he trudged down the hallway. "Wake up, Roxas!" Axel hollered, throwing open the door. He halted in surprise as he looked at the empty room. The bed by the window was neatly made. It didn't even look like it had been slept in! He double checked the bathroom, but Roxas was nowhere to be found.

"Where _is_ he? He was here last night, wasn't he?" Even as he muttered this, the memory of his friend waving goodnight as he shut his door was brought to his attention. With a sly, knowing grin, Axel made his way to a certain White Witch's door.

His feet treaded lightly on the stone, and his dark glove slowly turned her doorknob.

"A-HAAA!" Axel yelled triumphantly, pointing an accusing finger at the…the..._EMPTY room?! _The bed's covers were pulled back, and there were two people-sized indentations in the mattress. But there was no sign of either of the blondes. Axel scratched the back of his neck, shaking his head slowly. _Foolish brats..._

A few corridors away, giggles could be heart. Roxas and Namine, hand-in-hand, were running farther and farther away from the perplexed pyromaniac.

_Some things never change._

* * *

This is a random oneshot...at least it's happy though! I meant to publish it yesterday, but I was out all day :3  
And, yes, I describe things by the terms of my own imagination...I don't go by the games, necessarily :)

Dedicated to the following: _DemyxPlaysMySitar (first to review my latest oneshot! :D love you!), Divine Wolfe & SaphireWaves (for being so supportive!), and of course, **Kiome-Yasha**, for being there for me from the very beginning :)...of course, there are many more, but I'm going to spread everyone out over the next few oneshots~_


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